Vicki Tharphttp://vickitharp.com/blog
en-usIn Her Defense Interview<p>I was recently interviewed by NYT Bestselling <a href="http://www.christie-craig.com/" target="_blank">Author, Christie Craig</a>. <br></p><p>Here is the interview below:</p><p><strong>C.C:</strong> Characters are so often a reflection of ourselves. Can you tell me what flaws and attributes you share with Danielle McKean? </p><p><strong>Vicki: </strong>Let’s see&hellip;flaws and attributes I share with my heroine, Danielle. Probably the biggest flaw would be my independence. Which is normally not a bad thing, but when you are so independent that you don’t or won’t ask for help, even if it is in your best interest, that can be bad. Sometimes it’s an ego thing and I think it trips Danielle up sometimes as much as it does me. </p><p>An attribute we share is the refusal to give up. Combined with a belief in yourself, it can be so powerful. Danielle is that type of woman. Everything she’s had to overcome in her life has made her realize what she is truly capable of when she is determined. </p><p><strong>C.C:</strong> Why romantic suspense? What drew you to this genre?</p><p><strong>Vicki: </strong>Unlike a lot of authors, romance was not a genre I read growing up. I read mostly mysteries and thrillers and suspense with some autobiographies and true life adventures thrown into the mix. Dean Koontz turned me on to romance. I know, his books are not your typical romance by most people’s accounts, but despite all the bad, scary, crazy stuff that happened in them, more often than not, the guy got the girl in the end and there was some kind of positive resolution. Some form of Happily Ever After. I found I really liked the HEA which drew me into romantic suspense. I read all sub-genres of romance now, but suspense will always be my favorite.</p><p><strong>C.C:</strong> What was it about your heroine that your hero fell in love with first?</p><p><strong>Vicki:</strong> I think Jack first fell in love with Danielle’s tenacity and heart. Even with their history together and the other tough challenges she’s faced in her life, she does it with grace and singular determination and a passion to help the underdog. Luckily for Jack, it is those attributes that forces her to seek his help and ultimately brings them back together.</p><p><strong>C.C:</strong> What’s next?</p><p><strong>Vicki: </strong>What’s next? Heroes, Harleys, and Horses. And of course, danger. Always danger. I’m really excited about this next project. A three-book series, all will be released within a year starting in October 2017, set on the fictitious Lazy S ranch in Wyoming.</p><p>Fast paced and suspenseful, COWGIRL, UNEXPECTEDLY is on preorder now and is the first in a three-book series</p>Tue, 23 May 2017 23:59:00 -0500http://vickitharp.com/blog/entry/4158341/in-her-defense-interview
http://vickitharp.com/blog/entry/4158341/in-her-defense-interviewI Could Lie<p></p><p>I Could Lie&hellip;</p><p> My left shoulder aches, a dull throb that shoots pain down my arm and across my shoulder blades if I put pressure on it, or try to raise my arm higher than my chest. I’m not telling you this to garner sympathy, nor am I looking for a quick fix. I’m just saying that it hurts.</p><p> What happened you ask? Well, I could lie&hellip;I could lie and tell you it’s an old dirt bike injury after I fell down an abandoned mine shaft while competing in an enduro in the Mohave desert as a kid. </p><p> I could lie and tell you I injured it skiing in shark and octopus infested waters (My father may dispute that fact, but I can still remember the whish-whoosh, whish-whoosh as these creatures wrung their fins and tentacles, eyed me from the murky depths, and said in their Wizard of Oz witchy voice, “I’ll get you, my pretty.”). </p><p> I could lie and say that when I practiced veterinary medicine, a Chihuahua went all Cujo on me and wrenched my shoulder out of its socket. (Yes, I know there are some good Chihuahuas out there, so if using the breed as an illustration upsets you, you can insert ‘rabid raccoon’ or ‘saber-tooth tiger’ in its place. I’m sure either one would be almost as bad.). </p><p> I could lie and say one of the horses I trim kicked me in the shoulder or that my Missouri Fox Trotter spooked at a cougar on the trail, (For all of the cougar lovers out there you can insert ‘mouse’ or ‘butterfly’ because to my horse they are one and the same) dumped me and left me for dead. </p><p> As I sit here at my computer in my tattered sweatpants, the rain coming down, nursing a Dr. Pepper and pickling my liver with analgesics I realize I cannot lie. </p><p> The embarrassing truth is I injured my shoulder while sitting at my desk, in a four-foot square corner of my master bedroom editing a manuscript a publisher has requested. It seems I sit slightly unbalanced and rest light pressure on my left arm when I reach for the mouse or contemplate word choices. Embarrassing. True.</p><p> But I cannot lie&hellip;it hurts.</p><p></p>Thu, 21 Jan 2016 15:59:00 -0600http://vickitharp.com/blog/entry/3946824/i-could-lie
http://vickitharp.com/blog/entry/3946824/i-could-lie